Literacy & Learning
Promote literacy and lifelong learning.
About Mentor to Lead
Helping Girls Learn, Grow and Lead
We connect girls and young women in underserved communities with literacy, mentorship, practical skills and opportunities that help them recognize their potentials to shape their futures.
Who We Are
Turning Potential Into Purpose
Mentor To Lead is a not-for-profit, literacy-based mentorship organisation working with girls and young women aged 10–24 living in underserved communities across Ghana. Literacy forms the foundation of everything we do. We connect girls and young women with mentors, expand their access to opportunities, and equip them with practical skills and leadership capabilities that create pathways to lasting transformation. We believe that a girl who can read with confidence, speak with conviction, and have a mentor who believes in her can change the direction of her own life and the future of her community.
Literacy First
Reading, learning and digital literacy create a foundation for lifelong growth.
Mentorship That Lasts
Consistent relationships with positive role models help girls see new possibilities.
Leadership in Action
Confidence, practical skills and opportunity help young women participate and lead.
Our Story
It Started With 15 Girls in Beposo
Mentor to Lead evolved from the Empower 1 Mentorship Initiative, founded by Ama Frimpomaa Oware during her fellowship with Women Change Makers for Education. The first pilot was implemented in partnership with the CACI Child and Youth Development Center in Beposo, Ashanti Region, working with 15 girls in upper primary school. The pilot combined literacy and book-based mentorship with digital literacy, online safety awareness, career exploration, healthy relationship education, self-worth, leadership development, exposure to Artificial Intelligence and robotics, and Girl Child Day activities.
The experience reinforced a simple truth: access to school is only the beginning. Girls also need support systems, practical skills, safe spaces and opportunities to thrive.
Why Literacy Matters
Literacy Is More Than Reading and Writing
UNESCO describes literacy as a continuum of learning and proficiency in reading, writing and using numbers throughout life. It sits within a wider set of capabilities that includes digital skills, media literacy, education for sustainable development, global citizenship and job-specific skills. As people engage more deeply with information through digital technology, literacy skills continue to expand and evolve.
Read the UNESCO literacy overview88%Global adult literacy rate (age 15+) in 2024, up from 65% in 1975.
93%Global youth literacy rate (age 18–24) in 2024, up from 75% in 1975.
739MAt least 739 million adults worldwide still cannot read and write.
⅔About two-thirds of adults who cannot read and write are women.
Literacy as empowerment
UNESCO’s Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) presents literacy as a human right, an essential condition for lifelong learning, and a key tool for social participation, poverty reduction, gender equality and sustainable development. It gives special attention to women, girls, young people and adults in situations of greater vulnerability, and stresses that literacy expands people’s ability to make informed decisions and improve their quality of life. View the LIFE publication.
What Guides Us
Our Values at a Glance
These values shape how Mentor to Lead works with girls, young women, communities and partners — from the way programs are designed to the way impact is pursued.
Empowerment
Guide young women to recognise their potential and take ownership of their futures.
Growth
Foster continuous personal, professional and leadership development.
Integrity
Lead with honesty, accountability, respect and ethical action.
Inclusion
Create safe and equitable spaces where every girl and young woman feels seen, heard, valued and supported.
Collaboration
Support the power of teamwork and partnership.
Impact
Turn policies into actions.
Where We Began
A Small Pilot With a Bigger Vision
The first Beposo program established the foundation for Mentor to Lead’s literacy-led mentorship and leadership pathway.
15+Girls reached through the initial pilot.
1Pilot community — Beposo, Ashanti Region.
6Stages in the Mentor to Lead development pathway.
Our Team
Meet the Founder and CEO
Mentor to Lead is guided by a commitment to helping girls and young women learn, grow and lead with confidence
Founder & CEO
Ama Frimpomaa Oware
Founder & CEO, Mentor to LeadAma Frimpomaa Oware is a dedicated teacher, social worker and youth development leader with over nine years of experience advancing girls’ education, gender equality and strategic leadership. Through education, mentorship and advocacy, she has worked to empower girls, young women and underserved communities, a passion that inspired her to found Mentor to Lead and create opportunities for young people to learn, grow and lead with confidence. Read more here
Stand With Girls
Help Create More Pathways From Learning to Leadership
Mentor, partner, volunteer or support the mission to expand literacy, confidence, practical skills and leadership opportunities for girls and young women.